42 



BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



fruit without proper experience. The first year the 

 water gave out and I lost many trees, as we have to 

 irrigate through most of the summer. Last year they 

 made a fine start, but I had to be away from home most 

 of the time and did not get to cultivating them, and 

 clover-seed came down the ditch and took possession of 

 the ground. I read that certain fruit-growers advised 

 raising some crop among the trees to shade the ground, 

 so let it be, but kept a six or eight-foot circle grubbed 

 out around each tree, and let the clover grow and rot 

 on the ground. It seemed to be making the ground very 

 rich ; 120 apricot trees made an average growth of 

 four feet ; apples, plums, and peaches averaged seven 

 feet. My Mayduke and English Morello cherries were 

 so loaded down with fruit that it stopped their growth. 

 I did not know it ought to have been picked off. Some 

 trees with a light yield made a fine growth of two to 

 two and one-half feet. Bellmay had a little fruit which 

 was very fine, and the tree made vigorous growth. 

 Turner and Golden Queen raspberries have not done 

 anything yet. Snyder .blackberries all died. I think it 

 gets too dry for them. Red and white currants both 

 did finely. My strawberries did fairly well for a first 

 year. I found that the ground wasn't rich enough, so I 

 am preparing a new bed. I have it all marked off in 

 square rods and am putting on manure at the rate of 80 

 big loads to the acre. The Sharpless and Monarch 

 strawberries lead, and sheep manure beats all cheap 

 fertilizers that I have ever tried or seen tried here. — 

 W. A. M„ Utah. 



Children Brought Success. —The chrysanthemum 

 exhibition of the Hampden County Horticultural Society 

 was a success in point of attendance as well as the 

 quality of what was shown. Several who have made a 

 tour of inspection this week, beginning with New York, 

 New Haven, Hartford and Boston, say that Springfield 

 has led in the quality of plants. No other show in the 

 circuit has had such fine specimens of well-grown 

 plants. This may be accounted for in part by having 

 exhibitors who give their whole attention to training 

 plants rather than cut-blooms. While growers about 

 the large cities find specimen blooms the most profitable, 

 it i<s not so with us. Perhaps the most taking feature 

 was the exhibit by children. Last May the society gave 

 out to school-children 5, 000 littlechrysanthemum plants, 

 wit±i instructions for growing them in view of this show. 

 About 1,000 were returned, and it was worth all the 

 plants cost to see the children bring in their plants, 

 some with scarcely a bloom on them, while others were 

 really beautiful specimens of " natural growth"; some 

 were in proper pots, some in fruit-cans, some in plain 

 boxes and some in gaily decked boxes or tubs. It was 

 an easy matter to distinguish the boys' plants from the 

 girls', many of the latter using bright ribbons to support 

 the branches to sticks, while a string was as good a fas- 

 tener as the boys wanted. The satisfaction expressed 

 in the look of the little ones at the thought of being 

 able to exhibit at a flower-show was well worth seeing, 

 and well paid the committee for their hard work. Every 



child who brought a plant was given an exhibitor's 

 ticket, bearing a number which was a duplicate of the 

 tag fastened to the plant, that they might claim their 

 plant again after the exhibition. This ticket admitted 

 them to the hall as of ten as they chose to come in. Be- 

 sides being a treat to the children, the fact that a young 

 member of the family was interested in the show drew 

 out the older members, thus helping the treasury. This 

 is a good plan for any horticultural society to try, that 

 has hard work in getting out an attendance. Interest 

 the children. They are to be the flower-growers of the 

 future, and what better work can horticultural societies 

 perform, than toeducate people in the growing of plants 

 and flowers to the highest perfection ? Seventy premi- 

 ums were offered for what the children might show, 

 ranging from |2 to 25 cents ; besides this, a dress pat- 

 tern was given to the girl that brought in the best plant 

 grown by herself,, and a suit of clothes to the boy who 

 should grow the best plant. Each present was valued 

 at $10.— W. F. Gale, Hampden Co., Moss. 



The Season's Length. — Those who make the mis- 

 take of supposing that the outdoor garden season lasts 

 but from frost to frost, rely chiefly on tender stuff for 

 adornment. Those who can count on a garden season 

 which lasts from March to December, with some attrac- 

 tions besides during the entire 12 months, in addition to 

 the tender stuff, also freely employ hardy plants, bulbs, 

 shrubs, and vines, and trees, deciduous and evergreen. 

 Singularly enough those who seek the longest season 

 of attractiveness can do so along the most inexpensive 

 lines. They get much greater worth for their money. 



Are mealy bugs the destroyers of your peace and 

 plants ? Do you think nothing but a darning-needle 

 will exterminate them without exterminating the plant 

 also? Just chloroform them, and thus put them pain- 

 lessly and expeditiously out of existence. The chloro- 

 form evaporates so quickly that it has no time to injure 

 anything but the bugs. Dr. Thornton, of Missouri, 

 discovered this method of dealing with the pest, and 

 gave me the idea, with the privilege of passing it on, 

 if I found it to be good. As yet, I have not tried it on 

 many varieties, there being' a dearth of that insect in 

 my collection just at present, but I think if applied with 

 a small brush to infested parts, no harm could result , 

 to even the tenderest plant. Try it ! — Elder's Wife. 



Preserving Plants. — The plants to be preserved are 

 first freed from dust and washed. A strong solution of 

 crystals of soda is prepared, into which the plants are 

 immersed for two or three days. The solution is pre- 

 pared by a combination of 18 ounces of crystals to one 

 quart of water ; a little caustic lixivium is sometimes 

 added to advantage. The plants are dried between 

 cloths for three or four hours, and are greased either 

 by rubbing them gently with the hand with olive-oil, or 

 immersing them in melted lard. These prepared plants 

 may be colored if desired by painting them with a so- 

 lution of dextrine containing about five per cent, of so- 

 lution of aloes; to this coating are applied the proper- 

 colored powders. — Moniteiir Scieniijiqite. 



